this is bbc news, and these are the top stories developing at 11am. the european union suggests it's still possible for the uk to abandon the brexit process, as the the president of the european commission says he believes a fair deal can be reached. we wa nt we want a deal. those who don't want a deal, they have no friends in the commission. we want a fair deal. a deal, they have no friends in the commission. we want a fair dealm is up to london how this will end, with a good deal, no deal or no brexit. hospitals in england could carry out 280,000 extra operations a year just by making better use of operating theatres and time management, a report finds. a british man who has been fighting against so—called islamic state in syria has been killed while clearing landmines in raqqa, the bbc understands. also, a british former assistant of harvey weinstein says she was paid £125,000 to keep quiet after accusing the movie mogul

of sexual harassment. the allegations come as prosecutors in new york begin investigating the company co—founded by the disgraced film producer to see if civil rights have been breached. police in england and wales have been accused of letting down victims of modern slavery at every stage, in a scathing report by the inspectorate of constabulary. the reporting of crimes such as cyberbullying and online harrassment have increased by 85% in the last two years, according to figures obtained by the bbc. good morning. welcome to bbc newsroom live. the european council president donald tusk has said the eu will be

—— that the uk could still abandon the brexit process, as he warned there would be a defeat unless there was absolute unity. he said that the outcome of the negotiations was largely up to the uk and the eu must not be divided at any costs. we are facing the toughest stress tests. if we fail, the negotiations will end in our defeat. we must keep the eu together. the eu will be able to rise to everything. it is in fact up to rise to everything. it is in fact up to london how this will end. with a good deal, no deal or no brexit. but in each of these scenarios, we

will protect our common interest only by being together. the president of the european commission, jean—claude juncker, said he fully expected to reach a fair deal on brexit. i would like to say that the commission is not negotiating in a hostile mood. we want the deal. those who don't want the deal, the note dealers, they have no friends in the commission. we want a fair deal and we will have a fair deal. no deal is not working assumption. 0ur brussels reporter adam fleming is in strasbourg. let's talk first of all about the remarks by donald tusk, that no brexit is still a potentiality. that will set the cat among the pigeons. yes and no. i think he was speaking

from the heart when he talked about there being a potentialfor from the heart when he talked about there being a potential for no brexit because he personally thinks it's a terrible idea and a real tragedy for the eu and the uk. that is his view and he has held that ever since the brexit process started. that was just over a year ago. i think he was also being methodical in working through the options and those are the three options and those are the three options available for how this process may end. a good deal that is in everyone‘s interests, no deal at all, the uk crashing out, all the uk remaining —— or the uk remaining in the eu. the other thing he's doing here is yesterday theresa may the prime minister said it was up to the eu to come forward with proposals for phase two of the brexit talks, which is about the trade relationship and future relationship between the eu and uk. she wants them to generate some ideas. i think this was donald tusk very politely

lobbing the ball back into her court, to say that suggestions for future relationships need to come from brussels, —— need to come from london, not brussels or strasbourg. and the eu presidentjean—claude juncker has said in separate state m e nts juncker has said in separate statements about the possibility of a trade agreement with britain after brexit, possibly in three years. how significant is that? there is a bit of confusion because it came from interview done by the eu's chief negotiator michel barnier to a group of newspapers on the continent. 0ne of newspapers on the continent. 0ne of the reporters asked, is it possible that the negotiations over an eu— eu trade deal —— and eu— uk trade deal will take longer than the two years everyone has pencilled in. he said yes, it could be three yea rs. he said yes, it could be three years. but i understand from his teens he was not making a definitive statement. —— from his team. what

his view is is that anything is possible, it will depend on how the negotiations of phase one on divorce issues go, and negotiations of the trade deal go, how member states and national parliaments will be involved in the final trade deal, how that goes, but it has got people saying, hang on, is michel barnier‘s timetable for these years longer than the uk government's timetable? their dream scenario is that you get the divorce bill of brexit agreed and the future relationship agreed, all within this two—year period given by article 50 of the eu treaties, in other words by brexit day in march 200019. you. hospitals in england could carry out 280,000 extra operations a year just by making better use of operating theatres. analysis by the watchdog nhs improvement, due out later this week, suggests that an average of two hours a day are lost in operating theatres

because of late starts and other delays. here's our health editor, hugh pym. waiting lists for routine operations are growing and there's a continuing debate over whether more money is needed for the nhs or whether it could be more efficient. now analysis by a health regulator seen by the bbc suggests that more patients could be treated in operating theatres. hospitals have already found they could fit in more patients. surgeons are waiting to get on with the operations, they are working really hard, and by giving that we are using the same resource, more patients can be treated and get their operations a lot earlier. nhs improvement looked at non—urgent surgery at 100 trusts in england last year. it says 1.61; million operations were carried out, but an extra 280,000 more could have taken place and on average, there was about 140 minutes of unused operating theatre time each day. reducing late starts,

early finishes and last minute cancellations would have made a big difference according to the regulator, but the royal college of surgeons says it's a complex issue. i think the nhs can always be more efficient and i think people have worked very hard to try to make it more efficient and i think we should continue to work very hard to make it more efficient, but i don't think those efficiency savings are going to resolve the ever—increasing demand that is being put on the health service. nhs improvement says it hopes the research will enable hospitals to identify bottlenecks in their system, to ensure operations are scheduled more appropriately and more patients receive the care they need quickly. 0ur reporter is with me now. people will look at these figures, 280,000 potential extra operations a year, and they would think, why is this not happening? they will be shocked.

indeed, the numbers who have had to wait more than 18 weeks, the target for routine, nonurgent surgery, are growing. around 400,000. the overall waiting list is growing, around 4 million. and people have been put to significant inconvenience and pain because of their surgery being delayed. we are hearing today that operating theatres could done a lot more. it has to be said, the analysis did find that the trusts have done 1.6 million, so the 280,000 is on top it did find that there were more than two hours and 40 minutes a day when theatres were not used. there are things that need to be changed a bit, the way hospitals do their processes, patients are late arriving, there are late cancellations. there are some hospitals who have improved a lot just by better some hospitals who have improved a lotjust by better planning. it does not take much, but for patients waiting there is not much consolation in that. if it is that

easy, why hospitals not doing it? there is a lot analysis and part of it is that this is the first time it has actually happened. it will help you identify the bottlenecks and you can look at best practice to see how you can get more people through operating theatres. the royal couege operating theatres. the royal college of surgeons are saying yes, it is fine to be more efficient, but there is a bigger picture, demand is continually rising above the resources hospitals have got, there are delays getting mainly elderly, medically fit patients out of hospital because social care cannot provide for them, so there are fewer beds, so few people can have operations, therefore there are more consolations. so the response in some quarters is, yes, it is very easy to focus on the numbers but there is a bigger picture. phillippa hentsch is head of analysis at nhs providers — shejoins me now from our central london studio. thank you very much forjoining us.

we have heard they are the problem as it is, and ways around it, more efficiency. what is it that nhs providers thinks the trust can do in order to free up more time in operating bidders?” order to free up more time in operating bidders? i think the report's findings, which will come out later this week, will show that there is a lot more to be done in terms of patient scheduling and workforce plans to make sure we have the right staff in the theatre at the right staff in the theatre at the right staff in the theatre at the right time. i think we also need to remember there are wider systemic challenges facing the nhs, and as well as having a laser focus on improving data productivity, we also need to bear in mind factors outside the theatre and how they have an impact on theatre productivity. late start, early finishes, these don't sound like difficult things to overcome. no, there is a lot more that trusts can do and are already doing to focus on scheduling and

making sure we are making the most of our theatres. but we have also got to remember that there are severe pressures on beds at the moment, occupancy levels are very high, and quite simply to carry out theatre and surgery safely we need to make sure that we have the right number of beds and the right staff pre—op and post top to make sure that patients' care is safe and of a high quality. you have an overview of trusts in england. who is doing well and why? there are really good exa m ples well and why? there are really good examples at different parts of the pathway. in the report, croydon, for example, they are doing some really good things and patient chattering, and there are loads of other trusts focusing, for example, on communication with patients in a bass of operations to make sure there are less last—minute cancellations. there are others looking at patient flow more generally to make sure that across the pathway through urgent care to planned care we have the right patient flow in place to make sure

we are not cancelling operations or not making best use of the time. thank you. a british man who has been fighting so—called islamic state in syria has been killed while clearing landmines in raqqa, the bbc understands. former it workerjac holmes, who's 24 and from bournemouth, had been fighting with kurdish militia since 2015. 0ur correspondent is here with me 110w. 0ur correspondent is here with me now. just remind us about jac holmes and the circumstances in which he went to syria. we first began talking to him in early 2015. he was perhaps an unlikely candidate to go to fight is. he was a 22—year—old former it worker, no former military experience. but like many he started following the syrian war not through the bbc news cameras but through

social media. he watched the kurdish units fighting is on the ground, took great interest, did his own research and then travelled of his own accord to iraq and across the border into syria. that is where he joined a training camp and he then went on to fight for the kurds three times. we understand he has been killed. what about the circumstances? the battle for raqqa came to an end last week and jac had been very much involved. he part of a four—man sniper team fighting to liberate the city for a number of months but in the aftermath, what we are hearing is there were operations going on to make areas safe. 0f course, the cities devastated. is has left behind many people trucks and minds and we understand it was during one of these mine clearing operations that he was killed. —— is has left behind many traps and landmines. we understand thatjac

had been there for nearly three yea rs, had been there for nearly three years, had fought to the very end in raqqa and in a sad twist lost his life just yesterday. and tributes have been paid on social media. yes. the headlines on bbc newsroom live... the european union suggests it's still possible for the uk to abandon the brexit process, as the the president of the european commission says he believes a fair deal can be reached. hospitals in england could carry out 280,000 extra operations a yearjust by making better use of operating theatres and time management, a report finds. a british man who has been fighting against so—called islamic state in syria has been killed while clearing landmines in raqqa, the bbc understands. in a moment we'll be talking to the report author who's accused police in england and wales of letting down victims of modern slavery at every stage. and in sport, stuart bingham, the 2015 world snooker champion, has been banned for six months

for breaching wpbsa betting rules. three months and one day of the ban will be suspended. david unsworth will take temporary charge of everton, following the sacking of ronald kooman yesterday. former player phil neville says he is interested in taking on the role permanantly. and 12—time grand slam champion novak djokovic, who's been struggling with an elbow injury, is expected to play his first match for two months, at the world tennis championship in december. morejust after 11:30am. a british woman, who once worked as an assistant to the disgraced film producer harvey weinstein, has spoken out about signing a gagging order after alleging ‘years of sexual harassment‘. zelda perkins says she's breaking her non—disclosure agreement — for which she and another woman were paid 250—thousand pounds — despite the legal risk, after a number of women made assault and harassment claims

against weinstein. she's told the financial times newspaper this morning: harvey weinstein denies allegations of assault and harassment, and is being investigated by the criminal authorities in the uk and the us. now, prosecutors in new york are investigating the company he co—founded to see if civil rights have been breached. they'll seize documents relating to how harassment complaints were handled. sarah corker reports. the weinstein company has come under intense pressure over the scandal that has rocked hollywood. earlier this month it fired its co—founder, harvey weinstein, when reports of his alleged sexual assault and harassment surfaced.

now the company itself could be in the firing line. in a statement, new york attorney—general eric schneiderman said: this civil rights enquiry seeks to identify employees who may have been sexually harassed. it is understood company documents will be seized, including any relating to how alleged complaints were handled. meanwhile, on the red carpet in california, a—listers said it was time for hollywood to change. maybe this is the watershed moment, where we believe women and they can feel safe. the fact that somebody that powerful has had their career completely ruined, i think that's a real message to anybody who would behave like this. more than two dozen women have now made accusations

against mr weinstein. the movie mogul has unequivocally denied any allegations of nonconsensual sex. but the fallout from this scandal continues to send ripples across tinseltown. mps have asked facebook for information regarding russia. inquiry is being conducted into fake news. report is here. tell us more about this. the house of commons select committee is doing a general inquiry into the phenomenon of fake

news, and they are saying part of this inquiry will focus on the role of foreign actors abusing platforms such as yours. so what they are asking, ina such as yours. so what they are asking, in a letter, is for information about the use of facebook advertising by russian linked accounts. this is in the context of the big inquiry going on in the united states where facebook has already revealed that quite a substantial number of accounts that turned out to be russian were involved in advertising around the us prison digital election. huge storm there around that, and british activists and mps are now following that up and saying, let's find out whether any of it was going on during both the brexit referendum last year and this year's general election. we can see this letter that has been written. this suggests

that has been written. this suggests that the committee is taking the issue very seriously. yes, there has been pressure for a —— for an investigation into the use of digital media in particular around the referendum last year. it emerged that one company, for example, a data science company, but said it had very precise means of targeting voters, was heavily involved in donald trump's victory in america. researchers have been asking whether it was similarly involved in the eu referendum here. there is also a question both in the united states and hear about whether the rules we have governing advertising of elections, promotional material in elections, promotional material in elections, are fit for the digital age, because you can have on facebook very tailored adverts appearing for almost each voter, and thatis appearing for almost each voter, and that is not feasible. it is not visible to the parties, it is not visible to the parties, it is not

visible to the general public. —— appearing for almost each voter, and thatis appearing for almost each voter, and that is not visible. a light needs to be shown on this, particularly by facebook, which has been seen as not taking this issue seriously enough. how is this likely to go down at facebook? i think facebook, how is this likely to go down at facebook? ithink facebook, having agreed to be cooperative at least with the american politicians, may feel it is under pressure to do the same with the uk. thank you. the communist party in china has officially elevated the status of its president, xijinping, making him the most powerful leader since chairman mao. 0n the final day of the party's national congress, which takes place every five years, its constitution has been amended to formally enshrine the president's political thinking. 0ur correspondent stephen mcdonell is in beijing for us. this is really nothing short of a

major turning point in modern chinese history. this country's leader has drawn massive power around himself, by having his philosophy with his name placed into the commonest pa rty‘s philosophy with his name placed into the commonest party's constitution. it means that to criticise him is to criticise the party itself, and this policy, xijinping criticise the party itself, and this policy, xi jinping thought, stipulates that the party should play a greater role in everything from the means of production to what is said on social media. those who think he's doing a greatjob, in terms of shifting towards renewable energy, keeping the economy going, would say, so what? xijinping is becoming more strong. but whether they like it or not, it is what it is. and is it possible to identify

xi jinping's is. and is it possible to identify xijinping's political thinking is. and is it possible to identify xi jinping's political thinking as a philosophy or a vision? is it possible to characterise it? philosophy or a vision? is it possible to characterise mm philosophy or a vision? is it possible to characterise it? it is interesting because it is at times a bit vague and at other times more specific. i will give you an example. 0ne specific. i will give you an example. one of the things that is putting there, quite confusingly, i think, is this need to continue with what is called the belgian road initiative, and this is a move to build everything from bridges to railways everywhere between china and europe, in order to assist every country in between. but does that mean that this initiative is going to keep going forever into the future? now to keep going forever into the future ? now it to keep going forever into the future? now it is written into the communist party constitution, are they going to rebuild the bridge is again in 50 years' time or something like that? so it is kind of confusing. another thing that has been putting there is this move he's

made towards cracking down corruption. so this corruption campaign will now, it seems, go on forever. 0n the one hand, it is great to be weeding out all of that corruption in the coffin of sparta, but on the other, he has used it to to get his political enemies. —— all of that corruption in the communist party. it doesn't matter how great a leader you are, if you have that much power, it is something that will be of concern to some people. thank you. police in england and wales have been accused of letting down victims of modern slavery at every stage. a report by her majesty's inspector of constabulary found that cases had been closed without any enquiries being made, and in some instances detectives didn't speak to victims. police say they fully accept the recommendations in the report. kevin hyland is the government's anti—slavery commissioner. the police have lots of techniques,

lots of methods, lots of tactics, to gather evidence. when they deal with drug dealing, for example, they don't have a victim. they need to start using the resources they've got and find out who's doing this, who is the mastermind behind it, and prosecute them. northern ireland's strict abortion law is being challenged at the supreme court. the case centres on the current law which makes it an offence for a woman to abort with a fatal foetal abnormality or where the pregnancy arises through rape or incest. tuesday's proceedings in london before a panel of seven supreme courtjustices, headed by president lady hale, follow earlier legal rulings in northern ireland on the controversial issue. 0ur ireland correspondent chris buckler is in belfast for us. what can you tell us about the case being taken to the supreme court? the law in northern ireland is much stricter than that in any other part

of the uk. essentially, pregnancy can only be terminated where a mother's life is at risk or her health is in serious danger. there have been a series of arguments that have been a series of arguments that have taken place in the courts here about whether that is right. a number of charities and campaigners have argued that it is a breach of some women's human rights and as a result they have been pushing for this issue to be examined by the courts. two yea rs this issue to be examined by the courts. two years ago, the high court ruled that that was the case, but in cases where the child or foetus would not survive childbirth, 01’ foetus would not survive childbirth, or where a woman had been a victim ofa or where a woman had been a victim of a crime such as rape or incest, then she should be allowed an abortion. however, that was overturned by an appeal court here, who said it was up to stormont, the devolved government there, to make the law, not for the courts. that has subsequently been appealed now at the supreme court today. where does public opinion stand on the abortion laws just now?

does public opinion stand on the abortion lawsjust now? it is a deeply emotive issue in northern ireland and indeed across the island of ireland. although the courts have previously said that it is up to the stormont assembly to try to deal with this issue, there are campaigners who point out first of all, there is no government currently in stormont, but secondly they have struggled to deal with this issue. this is a place where politics and religion are often intertwined, and that is particularly true on these moral issues such as abortion. some of the parties are deeply against any change. what i would say is it has been 50 years since the change in law in scotland, england and wales, that saw the introduction of the 19 six to seven abortion act, a change which allowed a much more relaxed approach to abortion. —— 1000 967. the parties here have a more relaxed attitude. they don't want to see that acts extended. there was a particular divide over these issues being discussed in the supreme court

today, particularly where a woman has been a victim of crime or where her foetus will not survive birth. it isa her foetus will not survive birth. it is a condition known as fatal cetyl abnormality, although that is a controversial term that some people do not like. but as with all theseissuesit people do not like. but as with all these issues it creates a good deal of debate and emotion. —— cetyl abnormality. despite the cloud is pretty mild, because the error is coming in from the south at the moment. you can see from the satellite picture that as the air comes from the south,... eh few holes are developing in the cloud, particularly for northern ireland particularly for northern ireland particularly for northern ireland and scotland. elsewhere, it says cloudy, rain continuing on and

off for wales and much of the midlands and eastern england. dry towards the south but that is where we could see temperatures up to 18 01’ we could see temperatures up to 18 or19 we could see temperatures up to 18 or 19 despite the cloud. through this evening and tonight, further outbreaks of rain pushing through scotla nd outbreaks of rain pushing through scotland across northern england and wales. temperatures staying in double figures overnight tonight. they pretty mild night. the rain will clear away quickly on wednesday. dispose of sunshine for many but staying quite cloudy across southern areas. this is bbc news, our latest headlines... eu president donald tusk says the outcome of brexit talks is "up to london", and that abandoning brexit is still an option for the uk — while jean claude juncker says that the eu is not hostile to britain, and that a ‘no deal‘ scenario is not being considered. it‘s being claimed that hospitals in england could carry out 280,000 extra planned operations a year, just by making better use of operating theatres. a british man who‘s been fighting against the islamic state group in syria is understood to have been

killed while clearing landmines. a british former assistant to harvey weinstein has broken a confidential agreement to speak out about alleged sexual harassment. a scathing report has claimed police in england and wales are letting down victims of modern slavery at every stage. the parliamentary culture committee has written to facebook‘s mark zuckerberg asking for information on any paid—for activity by russian—linked facebook accounts around the 2016 eu referendum and the 2017 uk election. time for the sport now withjessica. stuart bingham, the 2015 world snooker champion, has been banned for six months for breaching wpbsa betting rules. three months and one day of the ban will be suspended, if he complies with any treatment recommended to him for his gambling, and if he commits no

further rule breaches. bingham still has the option to appeal, but he‘ll now miss the three most lucrative tournaments outside of the world championship.. david unsworth will take temporary charge of everton, following the sacking of ronald kooman yesterday. unsworth will lead the team their league cup fourth round game tomorrow against chelsea. former everton player phil neville is the latest to throw his hat in the ring. there‘s been a huge number of names been linked with the role, including burnley boss sean dyche. but unsworth is highly thought of at the club, after leading the u—23 side to the premier league two title last season. he enjoyed two spells as a player at the club, making 304 league appearances. ronaldo has been crowned the greatest footballer of the year, at the 2017 best fifa awards in london. his real madrid coach zinedine zidane was named best coach too. ronaldo beat lionel messi of barcelona and psg‘s neymar to the honour, after helping real to

a champions league and la liga double last season. thank you a lot. i mention neymar to be here. i‘m really glad. it‘s a great moment for me. i know i have fans over the world. thank you a lot for the support. leeka martens of barcelona and the netherlands won best female player. she was player of the tournament at euro 2017 this summer, as her country won the title. her manager sarina veegman was named ‘best female coach‘. rob greenwood, the coach accused of creating a "climate of fear" within the british para—swimming setup, has been given the "full support & backing" of the british swimming coaches association. this comes despite british swimming issuing an apology to athletes and admitting some of their swimmers needed counselling after being "visibly distressed"

recounting their experiences. greenwood resigned from his position before the investigation began, and is yet to comment publicly about the findings. england forward sam burgess says the squad for the 2017 world cup has more "x factor" than the team that got to the semi—finals four years ago. england play their first match against holders australia in melbourne on friday. burgess also said that rob andrew doesn‘t know the full story about his role at the 2015 rugby union world cup, for which burgess was heavily criticised. the rfu‘s former director of professional rugby called burgess‘s call—up, an "almighty blunder." rob went around the camp and he didn‘t see the work i put in our contribution to the squad. he didn‘t see how hard i worked whatsoever. he isn‘t in the coal face or the trenches, he doesn‘t see what happens. i disagree hit with him and

i‘m proud of my performance with england and what i contrary to to the team. unfortunately results didn‘t go the way we planned at the time but rob is entitled to his opinion and he‘s trying to sell his book so fair play to him. wales have announced their squad for the upcoming autumn internationals bourguiba union. five uncapped players have been named for the 36 man squad. rees —— rhys webb is in there too but he will become ineligible when he moved to france next season. that‘s all the sport for now. i‘ll have more for you in the next hour. the us military says an investigation is under way to find out exactly what happened when four soldiers were killed by islamist militants in niger last month. the widow of one of the soldiers, sgt la david johnson, says president trump made her cry when he called to offer his condolences. she claims he couldn‘t remember her husband‘s name. mrsjohnson also claims she hasn‘t been allowed to view her husband‘s body. peter bowes reports. last post plays

sergeant la david johnson was laid to rest at the weekend. donald trump‘s call to his widow, myeshia johnson, came a few days earlier as she waited at miami airport to receive her husband‘s body. the president said that he knew what he signed up for, but it hurts anyway. it made me cry because i was very angry at the tone of his voice and how he said it. he couldn‘t remember my husband‘s name. she also said the us military had refused to let her see her husband‘s body. i don‘t know nothing. they won‘t show me a finger, a hand. i know my husband‘s body from head to toe and they won‘t let me see anything. i don‘t know what‘s in that box. it could be empty for all i know, but i need to see my husband. at a news conference, america‘s top uniformed military officer was asked to address myeshia johnson‘s concerns about viewing her husband‘s body.

there are times when we make a suggestion to the family that they may not want to review the remains. at the end of the day, the policy is, it‘s the family‘s decision as to whether or not they do that. general dunford said military investigators were still gathering the facts about exactly what happened when sergeantjohnson and three other soldiers were killed in niger. he said the american people were owed an explanation. let‘s look at some of today‘s other developing stories. the labour mp, jared 0‘mara, has quit the commons equality committee over online homophobic comments he made before committee over online offensive comments he made before being elected to parliament. the mp, who defeated nick clegg in this year‘s general election, has also apologised for the comments which were posted online in 2002 and 2004.

he says his views have since changed. two women charged with killing kim jong—nam, the half—brother of north korea‘s leader, are revisiting the crime scene in malaysia. the pair were at kuala lumpur airport on tuesday. they‘re accused of rubbing the highly toxic vx nerve agent on mr kim‘s face as he waited for a flight. they have pleaded not guilty to murder, saying it was a tv prank and they were tricked by north korean agents. a special memorial service will be held at st paul‘s cathedral to mark six months since the grenfell tower fire. the service on the 14th december will be dedicated to the people who those who lost their lives in the disaster. the event has been organised at the request of former residents and victims‘ families who are working alongside the cathedral. the memorial will be broadcast live on the bbc. officials in catalonia have threatened "mass civil disobedience‘ if madrid carries out its threat to remove the pro—independence leaders in the spanish region. tensions have been high since a banned referendum

was held earlier this month. since then, the catalan government has refused to halt its drive for independence. in response, spain‘s prime minister triggered an article of the country‘s constitution which allows direct rule to be imposed. an extremely rare £1.5 million supercar was badly damaged after it smashed into a crash barrier in west sussex. the pagani zonda, which has a top speed of more than 200mph, crashed on the a27 at tangmere on saturday morning. sussex police said the driver was not injured but the "one—off" italian—made car was left with "significant damage". it is thought the car was travelling in a convoy of sports cars at the time and police have appealed for witnesses. for a full summary of the news you can go to our website where you‘ll be able to get more details. elephant poaching in africa has declined for the fifth year running new research suggests. cites, the organisation which monitors illegal trafficking says a record 40 tonnes of illegal

ivory was seized around the world last year. alastair leithead reports from nairobi. the good news is that after a ten year surge in elephant poaching across africa, the level of killing for ivory is on the decline, particularly in east africa which has lost half its elephants in the last decade, but the animals are still being killed across the continent and elephant numbers continue to fall, according to a report from cites which regulates trade in endangered plants and animals. it said 40 tonnes of ivory were recovered in a record number of seizures last year, perhaps because of better awareness and law enforcement, but also because ivory has been trafficked in smaller quantities. there has been an increase in the number of ivory being carved into bangles and pendants in africa, rather than being exported to asia as tusks which are easier to intercept. cites secretary generaljohn scanlon said the global collective effort is starting to reap positive results, but he added, "we‘re certainly not there yet."

the reporting of crimes such as cyberbullying, trolling and online harassment has increased by 85% in the last two years, according to figures obtained by the bbc. more than 200 malicious communication offences are recorded every day by police forces in england and wales, but the officer leading the fight against digital crime says it is just "the tip of an iceberg". emma glasbay reports. thank you for the stars. this is live.me, a video streaming app. victoria from leeds uses it to chat online, but last year she started getting abuse and threats. photos of her home were posted online and she was dared to try and leave the house. 0ne user threatened to force himself on her. she was even told "go kill yourself" and her address was posted on twitter as a house to burgle. this hasjust ruined my life. like, i used to be

an outgoing person and now i‘m just getting there, trying to get back to my old self. with more people using smartphones and social media, police are getting more reports of malicious communications offences. that can include threats sent by online trolls, abusive text messages, pornographic images and cyberbullying. research by the bbc has found more than 200 offences are being recorded by police in england and wales every day. the number has risen by 85% over the past two years. i think this is the tip of an iceberg. i think as policing and society changes into the digital age, this is only going to increase and providers, government, law enforcement and users all need to get ready how we protect people more effectively and then how we bring the criminals to justice. with the support of her family, victoria is slowly getting her confidence back.

so far no one has been arrested over the threats she received. peanut allergies affect around one in every 50 school—age children and for some of it can be fatal. but a clinic in cambridge is reporting great success in treating youngsters with the nut allergy. the centre at addenbrooke‘s hospital is the only one of its kind in britain. out of 100 patients, 98 have so far shown increased resistance. but for now, the treatment is not available on the nhs. emma baugh reports. hello, jack. how are you doing? shake hands... ten—year—old jack at the peanut allergy clinic. he is getting gradually increasing amounts of peanut protein in a controlled way. in essence, it‘s an old—fashioned treatment available for pollen hay fever on the nhs. but for years, people have been afraid of using it for food due to the potential for severe reactions.

we went ahead and did an initial trial in the 2000s, and we found it was successful and we should really press ahead as it seems to be working well. jack‘s one of 100 people being treated here for the potentially life—threatening allergy. it's worrying sometimes. sometimes in the shops, there are a lot of peanuts around. it worries me that i would react suddenly or something like that. we feel very lucky and fortunate that we can do this for him. hopefully his quality—of—life at the end of it will be so much better because he isn't going to walk around with worry on his shoulders the whole time. but the treatment does not come cheap. a two—year course costs £17,000, and it isn‘t available on the nhs. this isn‘t a licensed medicine yet, in order to get a drug licence we have to do further clinical trials, which are planned.

until we‘ve done that, we will not be able to get nhs commissioning, but it is something that we really want to achieve. it‘s hoped eventually the treatment could be free to help stop reactions to peanuts, meaning a trip to a&e. emma baugh, bbc news, cambridge. more now on the allegation of a british former assistant of hardy wine —— harvey weinstein. harvey weinstein has denied any allegations of nonconsensual sex unequivocally. we can get more on this story with the financial times journalist who spoke to miss perkins. hejoins us

110w spoke to miss perkins. hejoins us now from italy. thank you for joining us. the point that zelda perkins was trying to make in your article was as much about the legal process surrounding these allegations as the allegations themselves, is that right? yes, that‘s right. she felt hemmed in by an agreement she struck with weinstein 16 years ago. it was very restrictive. she wasn‘t able to talk to anybody about it. she had to commit to being completely silent. 19 years on she‘s breaking her silence and talking about the restrictions and pressures she was put under 20 signed the agreement. some would say looking at the deal that she made the deal and she took a certain amount of money and she should abide by this terms. yes, they might say that and i think that‘s fair but then you look at the

bigger picture here and you have a woman who was 24 years old he was going up against one of the richest, most powerful people in hollywood who used all the resources at his disposal and big london law firm ‘s, one big london law firm, alan and ovary, to negotiate with her on this contract and there are several slightly troubling aspects to this. she wasn‘t even allowed to have a copy of her agreement, such was the secrecy copy of her agreement, such was the secrecy that shrouded in it, three marathon the gauche asian sessions with her and at the end she had to agree not to have a copy so she doesn‘t —— three marathon negotiation sessions. she feels any see better regulation for people who are vulnerable and those who are in negotiation with rich and

powerful people like harvey weinstein. what would she like to happen, do you think? she isn't saying that the system is needed to be scrapped but it needs regulation and it needs, there are certain things in it, things she agree to a had to agree to such as if there was a criminal investigation into harvey weinstein jihad a criminal investigation into harvey weinsteinjihad to limit a criminal investigation into harvey weinstein jihad to limit the evidence she gave, you look at that 110w evidence she gave, you look at that now in the light of everything that has happened —— if there was a criminal investigation into harvey weinstein she had to limit the evidence she gave. it needs to be more transparent and regulated, you should be able to just say and do anything in them. —— you should not be able to say anything or do anything in them. harvey weinstein denies any allegations of having

nonconsensual sexual relations. we have to leave it there but thank you for your time. in a moment a summary of the business news this hour but first, the headlines on bbc newsroom live... the european union suggests it‘s still possible for the uk to abandon the brexit process , as the the president of the european commission says he believes a fair deal can be reached. hospitals in england could carry out 280,000 extra operations a yearjust by making better use of operating theatres and time management, a report finds. a british man who has been fighting against so—called islamic state in syria has been killed while clearing landmines in raqqa, the bbc understands. hello, the business news. people in debt could be given more time to get back on their feet. the treasury is going to hold a consultation on giving people a six week breather period where they‘d be protected from further interest, charges and enforcement action — to give them a chance to get advice.

the financial regulator has ordered the rent to own company bright house to pay more than £14 million in compensation to customers. it affects almost a quarter of a million people — some of whom signed up for deals they couldn‘t afford. whitbread has seen its overall profits rise thanks to growth from its premier inn business. but one of its other companies didn‘t do as well. sales at costa coffee slowed down over the last six months. more on those whitbread results. the company owns premier inns and costa coffee. and the two brands have been performing very differently. growth at premier inn helped whitbread‘s overall profits rise by around 7%. but it‘s a rather different picture at costa — where sales fell during the last six months. richard hunter is from wilson king investment management and hejoins me now. let‘s start off with costa, what‘s

going wrong there? they have had a few headwinds to face over the last six months in particular, the cost of coffee itself has risen, costa hasn‘t been able to pass that on to the consumer at a lower rate, hire staff costs and higher business rates but some of that has been offset by its ongoing cost—cutting programme which is in the words of whitbread gaining momentum but in terms of overall group numbers they are actually very good at the market today has chosen to focus on costa and the uk branch of costa‘s business in particular. more on costa before we move onto premier inn, there is talk about costa by taking advantage of a so—called third wave in coffee. are we not just awash with copy shops —— awash with coffee shops at the moment?

there will naturally, situation where we are getting near saturation point and you are absolutely right, in terms of coffee outlets in the uk generally. they all seem to be a few yards away from each other. the exponential rise of costa the last few years cannot continue forever and it is one of the reasons why it is now looking to international expansion, most notably in china. is now looking to international expansion, most notably in chinam will be right even more heavily than on the good performance of premier inn. indeed, in terms of premier inn it is also looking to expand its operation in germany at the moment. it may have one eye on what comes out of brexit in any potential movement ofjobs in that sort of direction, there‘s also a lot more business travel due to the structure of germany but again, in the uk, despite the increasingly cautious uk consumers in terms of his or her own cost it nonetheless continues at

pace and it‘s very much driving force to the overall increase in profits we have seen today. the company had interesting things to say about the strength or otherwise of the domestic economy. they used the phrase well known in terms of the phrase well known in terms of the way the uk consumer is starting to retreat somewhat. having said that the premier in part of the business is probably middle of the road to the budget end of expectations so arguably could be less fit than more expensive hotel chains. thanking the joining us. google‘s new flagship smartphones, the pixel two and pixel two xl, have received complaints about the quality of the screen. the phones are also investigating google said it was investigating the issue, which it took "very seriously".

the digital, media and sport select committee has written to facebook‘s mark zuckerberg to request information on any paid—for activity by russian—linked facebook accounts around last year‘s eu referendum and the 2017 general election. singapore airlines has finalised a deal worth £10.4 billion to buy new boeing aircraft to modernise its fleet over the next decade. the carrier will purchase 39 aircraft. a look at the markets. some good progress on the footsie. whitbread‘s share price tumbled about that news about costa. rsa insurance up by 4%. back to you. what should you do when you feel a bit nervous about doing something a bit dangerous, then answer? get someone to do it with you. this is the moment 245 people simultaneously bungee jumped off a 30 foot high bridge in brazil. guinness world records have not yet officially confirmed the daring

group feat as a record, the previous highest number of group bungee jumpers was 149, which took place last year. the headlines are coming up on the bbc news channel. in a moment we say goodbye to viewers on bbc 2 — first we leave you with for a look at the weather. that does not look fun to me at all, jumping off that bridge! a lot of cloud at the moment across the united kingdom. we had some rain this morning as well. in northern ireland that rain is clearing away so the sun coming out here now and you can see this lovely scene outside belfast at the moment. 0ne thing we will all notices how mild it is at the moment. these are the average temperatures, 12 or 14 celsius. in the south those temperatures a good five or six celsius off where they should be at this time of year. it will take a

rally across southern areas and that rain continues as ventral part but further north across scotland —— in a further north across scotland —— in1 a further north across scotland —— in 1 after, , northern over sunshine increasing for cumbria and northumberland but further south in northern england through wales and the midlands saying cloudy with rain on and off for the rest of this afternoon and cloudy skies across southern areas. despite that proud temperatures are above—average, 17 or19 temperatures are above—average, 17 or 19 celsius. 0vernight tonight further rain spreading through northern ireland into scotland, northern england and across wales but with a lot of cloudless days mild. temperatures not falling much below 10 celsius. for much of the uk wednesday is not looking too bad at all. some blustery showers for scotla nd all. some blustery showers for scotland and cloud in southern parts of england into the afternoon but

still very mild here. temperatures 18,19, still very mild here. temperatures 18, 19, 20 celsius in the south. further north a bit colder in manchester for example 14 celsius. the cloud in the south is associated with this weather front and behind it is where there is the warm air and it moves its way northwards during thursday and with it brings cloud across wales, the midlands, eastern england. a few spots of rain here and there. by the afternoon some sunny spells developing and temperatures up to 17 in the south. that will change because at that weather front move southwards all of us weather front move southwards all of us will be in this fresh air. going into friday we have this area of high pressure which means it will be settled, mostly dry and sunshine but noticeably a bit fresher towards the south. that‘s it from me. goodbye. this is bbc news, and these are the top stories developing at midday: the european union suggests it‘s

still possible for the uk to abandon the brexit process, as the the president of the european commission says he believes a fair deal can be reached. do. those who do not have no friends in the commission. it is up to london how this goes. with a good deal, no deal or no brexit. the bbc understands a british man who has been fighting against so—called islamic state in syria has been killed while clearing landmines in raqqa, hospitals in england could carry out 280,000 extra operations a year just by making better use of operating theatres and time management, a report finds. the hire—purchase firm brighthouse is to pay—out nearly £15 million to a quarter of a million customers after mistakes in contracts and problems with refunds. also a british former assistant

of harvey weinstein says she was paid £125,000 to keep quiet after accusing the movie mogul of sexual harassment. the allegations come as prosecutors in new york begin investigating the company co—founded by the disgraced film producer to see if civil rights have been breached. mps ask the social media giant facebook for details of any paid—for activity by russian—linked accounts around last year‘s eu referendum and the june general election. the reporting of crimes such as cyberbullying and online harrassment have increased by 85% in the last two years — according to figures obtained by the bbc. good afternoon. welcome to bbc

newsroom live. the european council president donald tusk has suggested that the uk could still abandon the brexit process, as he urged members of the european union to stick together , warning they would be ‘defeated‘ unless they maintained absolute unity. speaking to the european parliament in strasbourg mr tusk said the outcome of the negotiations was largely up to the uk and warned that the eu must not be divided at any costs. we are facing the toughest stress test. if we fail it, the negotiations will end in our defeat. we must keep our unity regardless of the direction of the talks. the eu will be able to rise to every scenario as long as you are not divided. it is in fact up to london how this will end — with a good deal, no deal or no brexit. but in each of these scenarios, we will protect our common interest

only by being together. the president of the european commission, jean—claude juncker, said he fully expected to reach a fair deal on brexit. i would like to say that the commission is not negotiating in a hostile mood. we want a deal. those who don't want a deal, the no—dealers, they have no friends in the commission. we want a fair deal, and we will have a fair deal. the no—deal is not our working assumption. thank you. to brussels reporter explained what me “— to brussels reporter explained what me —— earlier, brussels reporter explained. donald tusk thinks brexit isa explained. donald tusk thinks brexit is a terrible idea and a tragedy for the eu and uk. he has held that

position since the brexit process started just over a year ago. he was also being quite melodic —— methodical in working through the options. there are three possibilities, a good deal in everyone‘s interests, no deal, the uk question out, or the uk remaining in the eu. you can rank the probability or possibility of those yourself. the other thing he is doing here is yesterday prime minister theresa may said it was up to the eu to come forwards with proposals for phase two of the brexit deals, about the trade and relationship between the uk and eu. she wanted the eu to generate some ideas. i think this was donald tusk very politely putting people back in her court, saying suggestions for a future relationship need to come from london, not brussels. and the

eu commission president, jean—claude juncker, has also separately talked about the possibility of a trade agreement with britain after brexit, possibly in three years. how significant is that? there is a bit of confusion about these comments because it came from an interview done by the eu chief negotiator, michel barnier, to a group of newspapers on the continent. they did ajoint newspapers on the continent. they did a joint interview and one reporter asked him, is it possible that the negotiations could take longer than the two—year implementation period everyone has pencilled in? you said yes, it could be three years. but i understand from mr barnier‘s people that he was not making a definitive statement that it would take three years to do a trade deal, i think what he thinks is that anything is possible and it will depend on the negotiations of phase one, the divorce issues, how

they go, how negotiations on the trade deal go, how national parliaments will be involved in the final trade deal, how that goes. but it has got people saying, hang on, is michel barnier‘s timetable for all of this years longer than the uk government‘s timetable, because there dream scenario is that you get there dream scenario is that you get the divorce bill agreed and the future trade relationship agreed all within two years. in other word, by brexit day 2019. in the past half hour the irish prime minister has held talks with the french president in paris, including brexit. the french president said it was up to the uk to tackle issues concerning the uk to tackle issues concerning the uk to tackle issues concerning the uk - the uk to tackle issues concerning the uk — irish border. the uk to tackle issues concerning the uk - irish border. i thanked him for his solidarity in working towards a solution that there is a

positive outcome on the issues that are important to ireland and europe, also the good friday agreement and protected the common travel area between britain and france and doing all we can to ensure there is no return to a physical border on the island of ireland. we are very much agreed of a need for a unified approach by 27 member states in working to progress or these issues and negotiations. i express our shared hope that it is possible to make substantial process on this in the coming months. a british man who has been fighting so—called islamic state in syria has been killed while clearing landmines in raqqa, the bbc understands. former it workerjac holmes, who‘s 24 and from bournemouth, had been fighting with kurdish militia since 2015. in an interview with our middle east correspondent just last in an interview with our middle east correspondentjust last month, jac holmes talked about how difficult it had been for him, fighting in raqqa.

very difficult. even as a sniper, not being one of the guys who is right in front, assaulting buildings. there are hundreds of places that daesh can be, in windows, alleyways. the streets are filled with rubble. buildings are all half destroyed, nearly all of them. yes, we are always on the offensive. daesh are always defending, said they have the advantage. it has been their city for many years so they know it better than others. what had been the main injuries that your comrades have been taking? a lot of it is landmines, snipers, and you also get people getting shot in normal battles, not by snipers. but a lot of landmines. have you lost many people in your unit? we are a small

unit, we are all foreigners, there are only four of us. nothing serious has happened. a question i have asked you before and i will ask you again, this is not your country, not your war, why are you here?|j again, this is not your country, not your war, why are you here? i think the fight against daesh is everyone‘s war. it is the world‘s more. there is daesh all over europe, especially in england, and we need to stop them here and in iraq, or they will we need to stop them here and in iraq, orthey willspread. 0ur our home affairs correspondent gave me this update. we first began talking to jac holmes in early 2015. he was perhaps an unlikely candidate to go to fight is. he was a 22—year—old it worker from bournemouth, no former military experience, but like many people he started following the syrian war not through bbc news cameras but through

social media. he watched the kurdish units fighting is on the ground, took a great interest, did his own research, and then travel of his own accord into iraq and across the border into syria. he thenjoined a training camp and fought the kurds three times. and he has been killed. what about the circumstances? the battle for raqqa came to an end last week. jac have been very much involved in that common part of a four— man sniper team working involved in that common part of a four—man sniper team working to liberate raqqa for weeks. someone was then going on to make the place safe perhaps for civilians to come back. is has left behind trucks and landmines and we understand it was during one of these landmine clearing operations that jac was killed. very few details coming at the moment. a few details have been received from people the bbc spoke

to last night, and those are the circumstances as we understand it. a cruel twist because jac had been there for nearly three years, had fought to be very end in raqqa and sadly lost his life just yesterday. hospitals in england could carry out 280,000 extra operations a year just by making better use of operating theatres. analysis by the watchdog nhs improvement, due out later this week, suggests that an average of two hours a day are lost in operating theatres because of late starts and other delays. here‘s our health editor, hugh pym. waiting lists for routine operations are growing and there‘s a continuing debate over whether more money is needed for the nhs or whether it could be more efficient. now analysis by a health regulator seen by the bbc suggests that more patients could be treated in operating theatres. hospitals have already found they could fit in more patients. surgeons are waiting to get on with the operations, they are working really hard, and by doing that we

are using the same resource, more patients can be treated and get their operations a lot earlier. nhs improvement looked at non—urgent surgery at 100 trusts in england last year. it says 1.64 million operations were carried out, but an extra 280,000 more could have taken place and on average, there was about 140 minutes of unused operating theatre time each day. reducing late starts, early finishes and last minute cancellations would have made a big difference according to the regulator, but the royal college of surgeons says it‘s a complex issue. i think the nhs can always be more efficient and i think people have worked very hard to try to make it more efficient, and i think we should continue to work very hard to make it more efficient, but i don't think those efficiency savings are going to resolve the ever—increasing demand that is being put on the health service. nhs improvement says it hopes the research will enable hospitals to identify bottlenecks in their system, to ensure operations are scheduled more

appropriately and more patients receive the care they need quickly. the firm brighthouse, which works on hire purchase agreements has agreed to pay compensation, after being reprimanded by the regulator. the issue was highlighted in an investigation for the victoria derbyshire programme in 2016 by the former labour leader ed miliband.. labour leader and now as a back bench mp, i have talked about the the fact that those have to do right by their employees and customers. brighthouse has a base in doncaster, in my constituency. i am concerned that brighthouse are taking

advantage of people on benefits and working on low incomes, but in the course of our investigation, i‘ve been really shocked to find that brighthouse is selling to people with mental health problems and learning disabilities. pole, not his real name, he asked us to hide his identity, he has learning difficulties and mental health issues. —— paul. tell us what you own brighthouse and what gives you have from them. that is that. a sofa. yes, and a sofa and a cd player. you have five items. how have you ended up with that number of items? i started paying off one...| of items? i started paying off one... i don't know how it works, really. it is a cold day.

brighthouse denies exploiting vulnerable people. the weekly payments to brighthouse seems cheap but the total cost certainly isn‘t. take a washing machine, the product price is £358 but add in 5—star compulsory service, including delivery and installation at £55, and service plus, repair or replace and service plus, repair or replace and of your item, at £136, on top of that, interest rates of 69.9% a year and payments spread over three yea rs, and payments spread over three years, you end up paying a grand total of £1092. i wanted to speak to brighthouse but they declined to be interviewed. so did the consumer credit trade association and the finance and leasing association, the industry bodies of which brighthouse isa industry bodies of which brighthouse is a member. from what i see, too often, is a member. from what i see, too ofte n, re nt is a member. from what i see, too often, rent to own companies are taking advantage of people who have nowhere else to go. the regulator

should stop the most vulnerable in our society being ta ken should stop the most vulnerable in our society being taken advantage of. they should stop selling goods to people who just cannot afford them. i think that there should be a cap to the total cost that these companies can charge. it is done for short—term loans company is and it works. a report done by former labour leader ed miliband for the victory adoption programme last year, giving the background to the brighthouse story. there chief executive has said this in silly apologised to customers who were affected and their top rarities to ensure they are reimbursed as soon as possible. he says, we are absolutely determined that this does not happen again. we have made significant improvements over the last 18 months, something that the financial conduct authority recognised. they confirmed in april they were minded to authorise the business subject to specific conditions. the headlines:

the european union suggests it is still possible for the uk to abandon the brexit process. the bbc understands a british man who has been fighting against so—called islamic state in syria has been killed clearing landmines in raqqa. hospitals in england could carry out 280,000 extra operations a yearjust by making better use of operating theatres and time management, a report finds. ina report finds. in a moment, we will be talking to the report author who has accused police in england and wales of letting down victim is of modern slavery at every stage. now the sport. stuart bingham, the 2015 world snooker champion, has been banned for six months for breaching wpbsa betting rules. three months and one day of the ban will be suspended, if he complies with any treatment

recommended to him for his gambling, and if he commits no further rule breaches. bingham still has the option to appeal, but he‘ll now miss the three most lucrative tournaments, outside of the world championship. this is one of five uncapped players in the wales squad ahead of the autumn internationals. he is new zealand born and... the scrum—half is also included, although selection policy rules means he will become ineligible for wales when he moves to toulon. wales face australia on the 11th of november, followed by tests with georgia, south africa and the all blacks. scotland head coach gregor townsend has named ten uncapped players in his squad the scots face samoa, new zealand and australia. but there is no place for edinburgh flankerjohn hardie,

who has been suspended by both club and country amid reports of alleged cocaine use. england forward sam burgess says the squad for the 2017 world cup has more "x factor" than the team that got to the semi—finals four years ago. that is the rugby league world cup. england play their first match against holders australia in melbourne on friday. burgess also said that rob andrew doesn‘t know the full story about his role at the 2015 rugby union world cup, for which burgess was heavily criticised. the rfu‘s former director of professional rugby called burgess‘s call—up, an "almighty blunder." rob never went around the camp and he didn‘t see the work i put in or contribution to the squad. he didn‘t see how hard i worked whatsoever. he isn‘t in the coalface or the trenches, he doesn‘t see what happens. i do disagree with him and i‘m proud of my performance with england and what i contributed to the team. unfortunately the results didn‘t go the way we planned at the time

but rob is entitled to his opinion and he‘s trying to sell his book so fair play to him. and just before i go, it‘s been announced that team england will send 75 athletes — the largest party they have ever sent to an overseas event — for next year‘s commonwealth games in australia. heptathlete katarina johnson—thompson, who was injured for glasgow 2014, will compete in her first games. that‘s all the sport for now. i‘ll have more for you in the next hour. a 53—year old man is due in court charged in connection with an armed siege that lastest four hours at a bowling alley in nuneaton in warwickshire on sunday. david clark is charged with false imprisonment, criminal damage, and possessing a blade and an imitation firearm. 0ur correspondent sima kotecha is at leamington spa magistrates court. what happened in court? 53-year-old

david clarke appeared here in the court behind me, around 11:30am. he confirmed his name, address and age and then the charges were read out to him. i will give them to you in more detail. two counts of full set prison and, one count of criminal damage, two counts of possession of a bladed article, or should i say articles, a knife and a samurai sword, one count of possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, and two cou nts cause fear of violence, and two counts of possession of an imitation firearm... inaudible this is in connection with what happened in nuneaton on sunday, where police swarmed a bowling alley after reports of a gunmen holding two hostages. 40—50 people were inside the leisure complex at the time and the siege lasted around four hours before the alleged hostages were released. david clarke was told today he would be remanded in custody until the 21st of

november, where he will attend another hearing. thank you. the labour mp, jared 0‘mara, has quit the commons equality committee over online offensive comments he made before being elected to parliament. the mp, who defeated nick clegg in this year‘s general election, has also apologised for the comments which were posted online in 2002 and 2004. he says his views have since changed. two women charged with killing kim jong—nam, the half—brother of north korea‘s leader, are revisiting the crime scene in malaysia. the pair were at kuala lumpur airport on tuesday. they‘re accused of rubbing the highly toxic vx nerve agent on mr kim‘s face as he waited for a flight. they have pleaded not guilty to murder, saying it was a tv prank and they were tricked by north korean agents. a special memorial service will be held at st paul‘s cathedral to mark six months since the grenfell tower fire. the service on the 14th of december

will be dedicated to the people who those who lost their lives in the disaster. the event has been organised at the request of former residents and victims families who are working alongside the cathedral. the memorial will be broadcast live on the bbc. officials in catalonia have threatened ‘mass civil disobedience‘ if madrid carries out its threat to remove the pro—independence leaders in the spanish region. tensions have been high since a banned referendum was held earlier this month. since then the catalan government has refused to halt its drive for independence. in response, spain‘s prime minister triggered an article of the country‘s constitution which allows direct rule to be imposed. for a full summary of the news you can go to our website, where you‘ll be able to get more details on all of those stories. a british woman who worked as an assistant to the disgraced film producer harvey weinstein,

has spoken out about signing a gagging order after alleging ‘years of sexual harassment‘. zelda perkins says she‘s breaking her non—disclosure agreement — for which she and another woman were paid 250—thousand pounds — despite the legal risk, after a number of women made assault and harassment claims against weinstein. she‘s told the financial times newspaper this morning: harvey weinstein denies allegations of assault and harassment, and is being investigated by the criminal authorities in the uk and the us. now, prosecutors in new york are investigating the company he co—founded to see if civil rights have been breached. they‘ll seize documents relating to how harassment complaints were handled. sarah corker reports.

the weinstein company has come under intense pressure over the scandal that has rocked hollywood. earlier this month it fired its co—founder, harvey weinstein, when reports of his alleged sexual assault and harassment surfaced. now the company itself could be in the firing line. in a statement, new york attorney—general eric schneiderman said: this civil rights enquiry seeks to identify employees who may have been sexually harassed. it is understood company documents will be seized, including any relating to how alleged complaints were handled. meanwhile, on the red carpet in california, a—listers said it was time for hollywood to change. maybe this is the watershed moment, where we believe women and they can feel safe

to tell their stories. the fact that somebody that powerful has had their career completely ruined, i think that's a real message to anybody who would behave like this. more than two dozen women have now made accusations against mr weinstein. the movie mogul has unequivocally denied any allegations of nonconsensual sex. but the fallout from this scandal continues to send ripples across tinseltown. more than 200 militias communication offences recorded every day by police in england and wales, but the officer leading the fight against

digital crime says it‘s just the tip of the iceberg. this is a video streaming app. victoria from leeds uses it to chat online, but last year, she started getting abuse and threats. photos of her home were posted online and she was frightened to leave the house. she was told to kill herself, and her address was posted on twitter as a house to burgle. these just ruined my life. posted on twitter as a house to burgle. thesejust ruined my life. i used to be an outgoing person, and now i‘m just trying to get back to my old self. with more people using smartphones and social media, police are getting more reports of malicious communications offences, which can include pornographic

images and cyberbullying. research by the bbc has found more than 200 offences a re by the bbc has found more than 200 offences are being recorded by police in england and wales every day. the number has risen by 85% over the past two years. this is the toboggan iceberg. as policing and society changes in the digital age, it will only increase. everyone needs to get ready to protect people and bring criminals tojustice. needs to get ready to protect people and bring criminals to justice. with the support of her family, victoria is slowly getting her confidence back. so far, nobody has been arrested over the threads she received. the weather. for most of us the rest of the day will be pretty cloudy. but also mild. temperatures reaching about 19 degrees in some places. but we have

a weather front bringing some ran across wales, the midlands, into east anglia. the best of the sunshine today across scotland although showers in the west. 0vernight tonight, our weather front gets more active. a zone of heavy rain working in. blustery showers for western scotland and then in the south of england, the cloud will love so mist and fog patches on hills. looking at the charts for tomorrow, this weather front slips southwards, so it will stay pretty cloudy again across southern counties of england with occasional light rain or drizzle. murky over the hills. further north, brighter weather working its way southwards. there should be more than trying for northern england and wales and east anglia compared to today, but under the sunnier skies it will feel cooler and pressure as well. —— out of the sunnier skies. this is bbc newsroom live. our latest headlines...

eu president donald tusk says the outcome of brexit talks is "up to london", and that abandoning brexit is still an option for the uk — while jean claude juncker says that the eu is not hostile to britain, and that a ‘no deal‘ scenario is not being considered. it‘s claimed that hospitals in england could carry out 280,000 extra planned operations a year, just by making better use of operating theatres. jac holmes, a british man who‘s been fighting against the islamic state group in syria is understood to have been killed while clearing landmines. a british former assistant to harvey weinstein has broken a confidential agreement to speak out about alleged sexual harassment. a 53—year—old man is in court today charged in connection with an incident at a bowling alley in nuneaton. david clarke is accused of false imprisonment and imitation firearm offences. a scathing report has claimed police in england and wales are letting

down victims of modern slavery at every stage. the commons‘ culture committee has written to facebook‘s mark zuckerberg asking for information on any paid—for activity by russian—linked facebook accounts around the 2016 eu referendum and the 2017 uk election. the communist party in china has officially elevated the status of its president, xijinping , making him the most powerful leader since chairman mao. 0n the final day of the party‘s national congress, which takes place every five years, its constitution has been amended to formally enshrine the president‘s political thinking. john sudworth reports from inside china‘s great hall of the people 0n the closing day of its week—long

congress, china‘s link on the list party had a message for the world. it is marching in lock step behind xijinping. inside the great hall of the people he was presiding over his own immortalisation. those in favour, he asks... and those against... with not a hand insight. none comes the chorus of replies. approved. applause and with that xi jinping is given his own brand of thought, the first leader since chairman mao to have it written under his name into the party constitution. despite the arcane language and the unreformed

political system, this matters, of course, because the commonest party now controls the worldsecond largest economy. what has happened here today confirms that much of that control now rests in the hands of just one man. mr xi tells delegates that his critical philosophy will help world a modern, prosperous china and he reads out its unwieldy title. thought on socialism of chinese characteristics for socialist era. with the congress over, 2000 delegates head home to a country that is certainly growing richer but it remains completely unreformed politically. chairman mao may loom large here as a symbol of strength, but he‘s also a reminder of the chaos that can come when one leader has far too much power. police in england and wales have

been accused of letting down victims of modern slavery at every stage. a report by her majesty‘s inspector of constabulary found that cases had been closed without any enquiries being made, and in some instances detectives didn‘t speak to victims. police say they fully accept the recommendations in the report. kevin hyland is the government‘s anti—slavery commissioner: the police have lots of techniques, lots of methods, lots of tactics, to gather evidence. when they deal with drug dealing, for example, they don‘t have a victim. they need to start using the resources they‘ve got and find out who‘s doing this, who is the mastermind behind it, and prosecute them. greater manchester police is one of the forces which has been highlighted in the report for good practice. let‘s talk to its chief constable, ian hopkins. what is it that you‘re doing at the

greater manchester force that makes you an honourable exception? well, we have treated this app orange crime in the same way we treat other serious organised crime issues, say we work in partnership with other agencies, with charities like stop the traffic and put victims at the heart of what we doing so we have trained 50 officers tactical advisers across this force to support local policing and we have 120 offices to act as liaison offices for victims of this crime because what we find is when we do find the victims they don‘t actually appear to be victims because of threats made to their families, in a country or a gym, because of the way they have been treated here, beaten, repeatedly raped —— in their country of origin. we have built on the principles of tackling organised crime, of using family liaison officers to put together training packages for our officers so we can

help the victims at the heart of this and that has now become the basis of the work that the college of policing are doing to support national training. we have also had incredible support from the public locally in terms of the awareness we have with businesses and how they may spot signs of modern slavery and human trafficking and report it to us and that goes from a handful of cases in manchester in 2014 to over 130 last year and this year we are just over 104. 130 last year and this year we are just over104. i was 130 last year and this year we are just over 104. i was going to ask, is this a growing problem but you seem to suggest this is because of better reporting. i think it's an issue of us finding more, recognising the problem is more, it‘s the public coming forward but what we‘re actually talking about is organised criminals who are happy to trade in fellow human beings as they are in drugs or other criminal commodities and so we are working

really ha rd to commodities and so we are working really hard to identify those and as kevin just really hard to identify those and as kevinjust said, using really hard to identify those and as kevin just said, using tools and techniques we have available to us to bring these people to justice. you add greater manchester clearly ta ke you add greater manchester clearly take this issue very seriously but the report from the inspector is scathing about some of the other forces. what is it they are doing wrong, is a question of attitude as much as resources? i think it's fair to say that and as the report said some were slow to come to the table but the prime minister has set a clear priority for the uk around this, police chiefs are behind it and working more closely with the national crime agency, trying to get u pstrea m of national crime agency, trying to get upstream of the problem in the countries of origin so it is being taken seriously by all police chiefs and in greater manchester we are sharing our learning as others are, too. ian hopkins, thank you for your

time. mps have written to facebook‘s mark zuckerberg to request information on any paid—for activity by russian—linked facebook accounts around the 2016 eu referendum and the 2017 election. the request was made by the chair of the digital, media and sport committee as part of its effort to gather evidence for an inquiry it is conducting into fake news. our technology correspondent rory cellanjones explained what was in the letter. what he is asking mark zuckerberg in a letter is for information about the use of facebook advertising by russian linked accounts. this is in the context of the big enquiry going on in the united states where facebook has already revealed that a substantial number of accounts that turned out to be russian were involved in advertising around the us presidential election. huge storm

there around that and british activists and mps are following it up activists and mps are following it up and saying let‘s find out whether any of this was going on during both the brexit referendum last year and this year‘s general election. the brexit referendum last year and this year's general election. we can see this lesson that has been written by damian collins to mark zuckerberg. this suggests that the committee is taking the issue very seriously. there has been growing pressure for a bit of an investigation into all sorts of areas around the use of digital media, in particular during the referendum last year, it emerged that the company called cambridge and it —— cambridge analytic said it had precise means targeting voters was heavily involved in donald trump‘s victory in america. researchers have been asking whether it was similarly involved in the eu

referendum here and there is also a question both in the united states and hear about whether the rules we have governing advertising and elections, promotional material and elections, promotional material and elections, are fit for the digital age because you can have on facebook very tailored adverts appearing for almost each voter and that‘s not visible to the parties, to the general public who is advertising to whom and i think there‘s a lot of pressure for like to be shown on this, particularly by facebook which is being seen as not taking this issue seriously enough at first. how issue seriously enough at first. how is this likely to go down with facebook? i think facebook, is this likely to go down with facebook? ithink facebook, having agreed to be co—operative at least with american politicians may feel it is under pressure to do the same with the uk. let‘s get more now on the allegation from a british former assistant of harvey weinstein that she was paid 125 thousand pounds in a gag agreement,

after accusing the movie mogul of sexual harassment. zelda perkins has told the financial times she signed a non—disclosure deal in 1998 after making the claims. weinstein has denied any allegations of non—consensual sex "unequivocally". matthew garrahan is the financial times journalist who spoke to ms perkins and explained why she decided to speak out now. she felt very hemmed in why the agreement she struck with weinstein 19 years ago. it was very restricted. she wasn‘t able to talk to anybody about it. she had to basically commit to being completely silent and 19 years on she is breaking her silence and talking about some of the restrictions and the pressure she was put under when she signed the agreement. some would say looking at the deal that she made that she made a deal and she took the amount of money and she

should abide by those terms. they might say that and i think that‘s fair but then you look at the bigger picture here and you have a woman who was 24 years old who was going up who was 24 years old who was going up against one of the richest, most powerful people in hollywood who used all the resources at his disposal and one big london law firm to negotiate with her on this contract and there are several troubling aspect to this. she wasn‘t even allowed to have a copy of her agreement, such was the secrecy it was shrouded in. they went through three negotiation sessions with her and at the end she agreed to not have a copy so she doesn‘t even know 20 years on a lot of the things in it and she did abide by the spirit of the contract but feels that the system needs better regulation, as it doesn‘t help people who are

vulnerable or in negotiation with richer and more powerful individuals like harvey weinstein. what would she like to happen do you think?” think a bit of sunlight on the whole process would help. she‘s saying system needs to be scrapped but it needs regulation and it needs, there are certain things in it. there are things she had to agree to such as if there was a criminal investigation of harvey weinstein that she had to limit the evidence she gave and you look at that now lies everything that has happened and the allegations it‘s preposterous so i think there are certain things that should be kept out of the agreements. yes, they are legally binding and they should be legally binding and they should be legally binding and they should be legally binding but they need to be transparent and regulated. you shouldn‘t be allowed to say and do anything in them and lock people up for the rest of their lives. the us military says an investigation is under way

to find out exactly what happened when four soldiers were killed by islamist militants in niger last month. the widow of one of the soldiers, sgt la david johnson, says president trump made her cry when he called to offer his condolences, she claims he couldn‘t remember her husband‘s name. mrsjohnson also claims she hasn‘t been allowed to view her husband‘s body. peter bowes reports. last post plays sergeant la david johnson was laid to rest at the weekend. donald trump‘s call to his widow, myeshia johnson, came a few days earlier as she waited at miami airport to receive her husband‘s body. the president said that he knew what he signed up for, but it hurts anyway. it made me cry because i was very angry at the tone of his voice and how he said it. he couldn‘t remember my husband‘s name. she also said the us military had refused to let her see her husband‘s body.

i don‘t know nothing. they won‘t show me a finger, a hand. i know my husband‘s body from head to toe and they won‘t let me see anything. i don‘t know what‘s in that box. it could be empty for all i know, but i need to see my husband. at a news conference, america‘s top uniformed military officer was asked to address myeshia johnson‘s concerns about viewing her husband‘s body. there are times when we make a suggestion to the family that they may not want to review the remains. at the end of the day, the policy is, it‘s the family‘s decision as to whether or not they do that. general dunford said military investigators were still gathering the facts about exactly what happened when sergeantjohnson and three other soldiers were killed in niger. he said the american people were owed an explanation. the headlines on bbc newsroom live...

the european union suggests it‘s still possible for the uk to abandon the brexit process, as the the president of the european commission says he believes a fair deal can be reached. the bbc understands a british man who has been fighting against so—called islamic state in syria has been killed while clearing landmines in raqqa. hospitals in england could carry out 280 thousand extra operations a year just by making better use of operating theatres and time management, a report finds. elephant poaching in africa has declined for the fifth year running new research suggests. cites, the organisation which monitors illegal trafficking says a record 40 tonnes of illegal ivory was seized around the world last year. alastair leithead reports from nairobi. the good news is that after a ten year surge in elephant

poaching across africa, the level of killing for ivory is on the decline, particularly in east africa, which has lost half its elephants in the last decade. but the animals are still being killed across the continent and elephant numbers continue to fall, according to a report from cites, which regulates trade in endangered plants and animals. it said 40 tonnes of ivory were recovered in a record number of seizures last year, perhaps because of better awareness and law enforcement, but also because ivory has been trafficked in smaller quantities. there has been an increase in the number of ivory being carved into bangles and pendants in africa, rather than being exported to asia as tusks, which are easier to intercept. cites secretary generaljohn scanlon said the global collective effort is starting to reap positive results, but he added, "we‘re certainly not there yet." peanut allergies affect around one in every 50 school—age children and for some of it can be fatal. but a clinic in cambridge

is reporting great success in treating youngsters with the nut allergy. the centre at addenbrooke‘s hospital is the only one of its kind in britain. out of 100 patients, 98 have so far shown increased resistance. but for now, the treatment is not available on the nhs. emma baugh reports. hello, jack. how are you doing? shake hands... ten—year—old jack at the peanut allergy clinic. he is getting gradually increasing amounts of peanut protein in a controlled way. in essence, it‘s an old—fashioned treatment available for pollen hay fever on the nhs. but for years, people have been afraid of using it for food due to the potential for severe reactions. we went ahead and did an initial trial in the 2000s, and we found it was successful and we should really press ahead as it seems to be working well. jack‘s one of 100 people being treated here for the potentially life—threatening allergy.

it's worrying sometimes. sometimes in the shops, there are a lot of peanuts around. it worries me that i would react suddenly or something like that. we feel very lucky and fortunate that we can do this for him. hopefully his quality—of—life at the end of it will be so much better because he isn't going to walk around with worry on his shoulders the whole time. but the treatment does not come cheap. a two—year course costs £17,000, and it isn‘t available on the nhs. this isn‘t a licensed medicine yet, in order to get a drug licence we have to do further clinical trials, which are planned. until we‘ve done that, we will not be able to get nhs commissioning, but it is something that we really want to achieve. it‘s hoped eventually the treatment could be free to help stop reactions to peanuts,

meaning a trip to a&e. emma baugh, bbc news, cambridge. a controversial new film has premiered in russia after months of protests, threats and violence. matilda, which tells the story of a romance between the then—future tsar nicholas ii and a ballerina, has attracted huge attention ever since 0rthodox activists led by a russian mp began a campaign against it. the film has become the latest test case of artistic freedom in russia, as 0ur moscow correspondent sarah rainsford reports from the premiere in st petersburg. this is how extremists responded to a film about russia‘s last tsar. they torched two cars and ran another one into an empty cinema. this is what upset them. matilda is russia‘s most controversial film in years. a love story about a ballerina

and a future tsar. more soap opera than biopic it has become a test of artistic freedom here, as the violence to ban it has grown. despite the threats, matilda made it to opening night. with the arsonist arrested, celebrities, socialites and stars poured in for the saint petersburg premiere. after months of threats, violence and controversy, matilda is finally getting its moment on the red carpet. some foreign stars are not here because of security concerns but for the director, the fact the film has made it this far is a reason to celebrate. translation: i hope there are no incidents now so that people can come to the cinema and watch the film in peace. but i think this is a victory, not so much for me or for matilda but for common—sense. it is a failure, however, for this mp who campaigned relentlessly to get the film banned.

nicholas ii is an orthodox saint and this woman insists the love story is blasphemous. but nicholas and matilda did have a romance and the proof is amongst the dusty documents in this theatre archive. her diaries record late—night trysts with the man she called nicky. there is even a first kiss. on these pages at least at least it goes no further. translation: even these diaries say that if anything happened it wasn‘t how the film director imagined it. i think that is why there has been protest. you have to be respectful. but the director puts a barbie doll together with ken and makes them kiss and roll around in a passionate embrace. even at the premiere, the director was ha rangued. this man told him his film was a threat to national

security. he has not actually seen it. the dispute is bound to rumble on. but after this gala performance, matilda will hit schemes across the country with extra security for cinemas just in case. a group of around 250 thrill seekers have gathered for a simultaneous one gjump to have gathered for a simultaneous one g jump to smash the previous record. —— one gjump. g jump to smash the previous record. —— one g jump. this is the moment they took a leap of faith. 245 thrill seekers tied to ropes jump from a bridge 30 metres tall. how is it different to bungee jumping? jumpers don‘t bounce because the rope is made of nylon. they slow

down as they approach the end of their freefall. this stomach lurching adventure activity took place about one hour from sao lurching adventure activity took place about one hourfrom sao paulo in brazil. participants will simultaneously jumped on a in brazil. participants will simultaneouslyjumped on a string and a prayer tied together wearing safety helmets. they swung back and forth until stopping. then some jumpers climbed back up to the bridge. these thrill seekers beat the previous unofficial world record of hundred and 49 people in a mass jump. guinness world records has not yet issued an official statement confirming the record attempt. in a moment the news at one with jane hill. first the weather with chris fawkes. for most of us the rest of the day is going to be cloudy but on the

mild side across the south of the uk because we are drawing up our air from spain across the bay of biscay and into southern parts of the uk. temperatures are way above average for the time of year. we have a weather front across central portions of the uk bringing rain and to the north of our front although we have south—westerly winds look at whether winds have come from. they have come from iceland and doing a lap around the atlantic and into the north of the uk and for that reason even though we have south—westerly winds across all of the country we have become to contrast —— we have big temperature contrast. as you go on through the evening the cloud will continue to thicken. 0utbreaks of rain working into north west wales turning heavier here. sunshine late in the day for east scotland and across north—east england. 0vernight a zone of heavy rain working across wales, northern england and other scotland with showers across the far north—west. to the south of our front estate smiled, temperatures 13 or 14 celsius. pressure conditions for the

north and west of the uk but there will continue to be blustery showers. the battle zone between the cool air showers. the battle zone between the coolair in the showers. the battle zone between the cool air in the north and the milder air in the south drifts southwards as we go through wednesday so some low cloud and fog to be expected across the hills but more of us enjoying a brighter day on wednesday, more in the way of sunshine to go around although there will be more showers in the north—west. where we see the sunshine that is where the colder areas. looking at the weather picture as we go through thursday warmerair picture as we go through thursday warmer air starts to push further northwards so there could be fog patches to start the day across england and wales. probably a cloudy day. temperatures 17 in london. fresh air in the north of the uk where we see breaks in the cloud and sunshine. this battle zone is going to shift southwards through friday and the weekend as pressure builds to the west of the uk and we get more of a north—westerly wind feeding in. that will break the cloud up for most areas and we see

that cooler air pushing its way further southwards progressively so we see a drop in temperatures. about 19 celsius today but on friday and saturday those temperatures down to around 12 or 14 celsius. at a weather. hospitals in england could carry out hundreds of thousands more non—urgent operations every year, if better use was made of operating theatres. a health service watchdog says an average of two hours a day are lost because of late starts and other delays. its conclusions are due out later this week but have already been seen by the bbc. also this lunchtime... donald tusk tells the european parliament the outcome of the brexit talks are up to london — and that brexit could still be abandoned. a british former assistant to harvey weinstein says she was given a six figure payoff, after accusing the film producer of sexual harrassment. a 24—year—old man from bournemouth has been killed after going to syria to fight against the islamic state group. the hire—purchase firm brighthouse

is to pay out nearly £15 million to customers, after the financial watchdog said it hadn‘t acted as a responsible lender.